WWE’s Gable Steveson has received one more collegiate wrestling honor.
It was announced today that Steveson has been selected as the winner of this year’s WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy. The award is given annually to the best college wrestler in the country.
Steveson also co-won the Dan Hodge Trophy with Spencer Lee in 2021.
“As long as I put on for the sport of wrestling that means the most to me,” Steveson tweeted. “Thank you all for supporting me on this journey. I am glad to announce that the Dan Hodge Trophy is coming home once again. The only HWT to win this award twice. History has been made.”
WWE sent out a tweet congratulating Steveson on winning the award:
Congratulations to @GableSteveson on back-to-back Dan Hodge Trophy wins becoming the first heavyweight to win the award multiple times! pic.twitter.com/dyM70fAZQW
The award is named after legendary pro and amateur wrestler Danny Hodge.
Steveson wrapped up his college wrestling career earlier this month by winning his second consecutive NCAA championship. He also won a gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo last summer.
Steveson signed an NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal with WWE last September, allowing him to sign with WWE while still remaining in college for his final wrestling season. Steveson will join WWE on a full-time basis when he graduates from the University of Minnesota this May.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Colby Covington fight we talked about Monday, ratings, Gable Steveson and Kurt Angle’s Olympic history, New Japan Cup, lots of shows this weekend, AEW and NXT 2.0 reviews and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Future WWE wrestler Gable Steveson says he might still compete at the 2024 Olympics.
Steveson left his boots on the mat after winning his second-straight NCAA heavyweight championship last Saturday. During an appearance on The MMA Hour on Wednesday, however, he said he’s not closing the door on returning to amateur wrestling.
“For now, I’m done. For now, I’m going to focus on WWE, go to WrestleMania, do all those things,” Steveson said.
“I know that competitive itch is going to come back and who knows? It might be at the 2024 Olympic trials when I show up again, but I do feel like I will put the shoes back on just not for a little bit.”
“When that time comes, I’ll only be 24. I feel like I still have a lot left to prove,” Steveson said about possibly participating in the 2024 Olympics. “I hope to maybe show up and if I don’t, 2028 is there and I’ll only be 28.”
He confirmed that he is eligible to compete one more year in college but does not plan on doing so.
He also said that Brock Lesnar was one of the first people to congratulate him following his second-straight NCAA championship.
“He was one of the first. He said ‘great job’, congratulated me on my good interview too. He said I had a really good interview which I was proud to hear. I’ve been working on my talking skills,” he said. “I like how Roman Reigns talks on Friday Night SmackDown. He’s so productive, he’s strong with his words, he’s just a one of a kind spokesperson.”
Steveson was asked if he has received any help from Paul Heyman on his talking skills.
“He’s a wizard, you know? There was times when he would tell me certain things to spin to make an attraction bigger than it should be. He’s just so smart. He’s literally a genius at what he does,” he said.
Steveson continued to say that he has a good relationship with WWE’s Paul “HHH” Levesque and president Nick Khan as well. He confirmed he will be at WrestleMania, but would not elaborate any further regarding what his role on the show would be.
“My exact start date is in the middle of April. So, they’re letting me finish school, they’re letting me do my thing,” Steveson continued. “I’m planning on getting on TV and getting in the ring on TV really, really soon.”
He also confirmed he will be bypassing NXT and heading straight to the Raw brand.
Two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson is expected to join the WWE Raw roster “very, very soon” and will be at WrestleMania 38, according to Dave Meltzer.
Meltzer noted on Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio that the 21-year-old will become a regular on the show shortly.
“I’m pretty sure that some clips of the [NCAA] tournament will be on Raw tomorrow night because he’s going to be on the Raw brand as a regular very, very soon — and with a push,” Meltzer said.
Prior to that, Meltzer said Steveson will be at WrestleMania.
In an interview released Monday afternoon with SI.com, Steveson said he plans to be at WWE’s biggest event of the year and may be doing something more than just an appearance.
“I plan on going to WrestleMania. That’s the first time WWE fans will see me and what I’m about. I’m going to put my heart out there,” he told SI.
On Saturday, Steveson defeated Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz to win his second-straight NCAA title. He left his boots on the mat after the match, announcing his retirement from amateur wrestling.
He told SI.com that he heard from Brock Lesnar, Paul Levesque and Paul Heyman, adding that Heyman is always the first one to check in with him.
Steveson became the first-ever athlete to sign an NIL deal with WWE back in September and continued to wrestle for the University of Minnesota during his senior year. Steveson was officially drafted to the Raw brand last October.
“My focus has been on the moment. There have been times I’ve thought about the UFC and NFL, but I’m not even 22 years old. There is still time to branch out into other places, and I’m also aware of what’s in front of me. This is my chance to work for Vince McMahon in WWE and create something you’ve never seen before,” he said to SI.
In August, WWE announced the signing of Gable’s older brother, Bobby Steveson, who now wrestles under the name Damon Kemp.
Congratulations @GableSteveson on an untouchable amateur career.
WWE signee Gable Steveson took home a second consecutive NCAA wrestling championship Saturday, retiring from amateur competition after the match.
The next stop: a future continuing to train pro wrestling with WWE.
The University of Minnesota standout defeated Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz 6-2 to win his second straight NCAA heavyweight title before leaving his shoes on the mat to signify the end of his amateur career.
His second national title goes alongside his Olympic freestyle gold medal and three Big Ten Championships.
The 21-year-old Steveson became the first exclusive NIL athlete in WWE history, signing a deal in September after meeting with Vince McMahon in August amid some flirtation with the sport of MMA.
That deal was of the multi-year variety, allowing Steveson to remain in school while also training in pro wrestling at a WWE-created facility near campus. His contract begins after he graduates this May.
Despite having no experience in wrestling, Steveson was drafted to the Raw roster in last year’s WWE Draft.
Bobby, Gable’s brother, is also under WWE contract and currently training at the WWE Performance Center as Damon Kemp.
Ordering Info: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Sunday News Update
We have a fantastic show Garrett and I did with Bryan Danielson up, which is two hours talking about every topic from pro wrestling to social media to depression and all kinds of interesting discussions on different aspects of pro wrestling.
Bryan and I also have a show up covering last night’s news with a lot of WrestleMania updates, UFC 272, Smackdown, Rampage and more.
Bryan and I will be up tonight covering AEW Revolution as well.
Plus we had one of the most in-depth Observer issues with news on a ton of different subjects out this week. This is a great time to become a subscriber with all the content coming out.
We also have our annual convention in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend which includes only our second Q&A show and meet and greet with Bryan and I since the pandemic, a dinner, a suite party, as well as the ability to sit together with web site members and Observer readers for AEW shows in Las Vegas that week. For more details you can go here.
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s UFC 272 and tonight’s AEW Revolution show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from tonight’s WWE show in Laval, Quebec, tonight’s WWE show in Allentown, PA and tonight’s Impact tapings in Louisville to [email protected]
AEW
AEW Revolution will be a nearly five hour show starting at 7 p.m. with a one-hour pre-show and three matches. It is a very loaded show as far as talent and probable great matches. It’s also looking to be the longest show in company history.
Pre-show at 7 p.m. Eastern —
Kris Statlander vs. Leyla Hirsch
Hook vs. QT Marshall
Penta Oscuro & Pac & Erick Redbeard vs. Malakai Black & Brody King & Buddy Matthews
Main card at 8 p.m. Eastern —
Andrade El Idolo & Matt Hardy & Isaiah Kassidy vs. Sting & Darby Allin & Sammy Guevara in a tornado match
Jade Cargill vs. Tay Conti for the TBS title
Keith Lee vs. Christian Cage vs Orange Cassidy vs. Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs Wardlow in a ladder match to determine the top contender for the TNT title
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston
Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley
Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus vs. Young Bucks vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish for the AEW Tag titles
Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s title
C.M. Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match
Adam Page vs. Adam Cole for the AEW title
No word on the match order past Page vs. Cole going on last.
Danielson vs. Moxley matches the winner of this year’s Best Technical Wrestler vs. this year’s Best Brawler.
There seems to be a lot of hardcore interest due to match quality and the show is sold out, but that’s because an 8,200 seat building is a small size for an AEW PPV show. Last year’s show did about 140,000 PPV Buys and that’s one of the highest in company history. AEW has never had a show on PPV that didn’t beat the number of the year before but this was the one that the comparison is tough because last year had the Moxley vs. Kenny Omega explosive death match and a lot of people bought the show for the main event gimmick. This is a better lineup but as far as gimmicks go, explosive death match beats dog collar match.
Kambi has star rating odds for both Revolution that you can bet over and under on —
Danielson vs. Moxley 4.75
Punk vs. MJF 4.5
Jericho vs Kingston 4.0
Hook vs. Marshall 3.0
House of Black vs. Penta & Pac & Redbeard 3.75
Statlander vs. Hirsch 3.25
Tornado match 3.75
Cargill vs. Conti 2.75
Tag title three-way 4.75
Baker vs. Rosa 4.5
Page vs. Cole 4.75
Regarding the tickets for Double or Nothing, as noted on Friday, the first day ticket sale made it the first AEW show to top $1 million in ticket sales. The show is not sold out as there are about 12,500 tickets out and a sellout would be about 14,000. With three months left and no card announced, it looks like they will sell T-Mobile out which is a good showing because the 2020 show before the pandemic that got canceled was not a lock to sell out the smaller MGM Grand Garden Arena. It would currently be the second largest non-WWE gate in U.S. pro wrestling history to the 2019 MSG show with New Japan and ROH. It is almost a certainty that this show will break that mark. If you adjust for inflation, there are a handful of shows in the territorial era and a few of the biggest WCW shows that would top that, and WWE has topped it many times with the record being $17.3 million. But it is still a great milestone for AEW.
Rampage on 3/18 will be airing at 11:30 p.m. Eastern due to the NCAA basketball tournament on TNT.
WWE
WWE’s Gable Steveson of the University of Minnesota faces Tony Cassioppi of the University of Iowa tonight in the Big 10 heavyweight championships match. Steveson beat Mason Parris, also signed with WWE, by a 14-6 major decision in the semifinals. Cassioppi reached the finals beating Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State 6-4 in overtime.
Jinder Mahal was in Montreal yesterday to promote today’s house show in Laval, Quebec. He was a special guest for Major League Soccer’s Montreal FC opening game at Olympic Stadium and was interviewed during the pregame show on TVA Sports. (thanks to Pat Laprade)
Kambi has star rating odds for WrestleMania that you can bet over and under on —
Styles vs. Edge 4.5
Lesnar vs Reigns 4.0
McIntyre vs. Corbin 3.5
Knoxville vs. Zayn 2.0
McAfee vs. Theory 3.5
Lynch vs. Belair 4.0
Mysterios vs. Miz & Paul 3.0
Flair vs. Rousey 4.0
Women’s tag title 2.5
Other Wrestling
wXw 16 Carat Gold from today in Oberhausen, Germany: Robert Dreissker b LuFisto in the semifinal, Jonathan Gresham b Shigehiro Irie in the semifinal, Baby Allison b women’s champion Ava Everett in a non-title match, Cara Noir b Dennis Dullnig, Maggot won four-way over Shotgun champion Ninja Mack, Edner Kara and The Rotation to win the title, Axel Tischer b Fuminori Abe, Ace Romero & Aigle Blanc & Senza Volto b Dover & Icarus & Peter Tihany, Jonathan Gresham b Robert Dreissker to win the 16 Carat Gold tournament.
St. Louis Anarchy results from Friday night in St. Louis: Christian Rose b Moonshine Mantel, Evan Gelistico & Adrian Surge & Nick King b Sean Orleans & Anakin Murphy & Deacon Cash, Jeremy Wyatt b Old Lane, Billie Starkz b Victor analog, ACH b Kenny Alfonso, Angelus Layne & Jake Dirden won three-way over SK Bishop & Campbell Meyers and Hoodie Howlett & Anaya Howlett, Chip Day b Thomas Shier, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett b Davey Richards & Warhorse, Camaro Jackson b Big Beef, Gary Jay b Anthony Henry to keep Gateway Heritage title (thanks to Sophie King and Patrick Brandmeyer)
GOUGE from yesterday in Raleigh, NC: TIM won Redneck Rumble, Dirty Daddy b Olly Primo Victor Andrews b Garrett Sinclair, Danny Vegas & Hazakiah & Jebediah Hoskins b Gem Stone & Bobby Wohlfert to wi tag titles, Snooty Fox b Caribbean Tiger, Waylon Maze b Inut Joe, TIM b Seymour Snott to win the Gouge title. Next shows are 6/4 and 6/5 in Raleigh at the Jim Graham Building.
XICW from last night in Detroit: Jontae Keith b Mark Ross, Soultaker b Forever Young, Billy Ray Daniels & LJ Lawrence b Grey Wolves, Drew Jacobs b TJ Meyer, Mongo b Sheepy, Schwartzy b Jamiy Coxxx, Randi West b Thunder Kitty, DBA b Hoodfoot Mo Atlas, Malcolm Monroe III b Simon Gotch (thanks to Leonard Brand)
A correction on the Jeopardy note regarding the Monday show, in the category of Sports by Their Honors and one of the clues was Slammy Awards, the correct answer that the contestant got was What is WWE, not what is a pro wrestler (thanks to Grant Zwarych).
UFC
Last night’s UFC 272 was a solid show but the main card was largely one-sided fights. The first round of Alex Oliveira vs. Kevin Holland was good. Colby Covington’s win over Jorge Masvidal was one-sided as Masvidal couldn’t stop Covington’s wrestling early and then Masvidal tired quickly. Masvidal hurt Covington in the fourth round but by that point was too tired to follow up.
Regarding the Masvidal vs. Covington feud ending with the one-sided bout, Masvidal said he wrestled like shit, and it sucks because Covington talked about his kids and that if he sees Covington in the the streets, “I’m going to give him everything I’ve got to break his f***ing jaw. It doesn’t matter if I lost wrestles scrambles tonight, I still think he’s a f***in’ pussy.”
Drake bet $275,000 on Masvidal. Masvidal said he owes him dinner when he comes to Miami.
Regarding the scorecards, in the main event, Sal D’Amato gave Covington all five rounds, Junichiro Kamijo gave Masvidal round two and Covington the other four. Derek Cleary gave Covington every round with a 10-8 fifth round
In the Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan fight, it was close with Michael Bell giving Rodriguez two and three, Derek Cleary giving Rodriguez only round three and Ron McCarthy giving Rodriguez two and three. Media scores were 50% for each fighter which tells you how close it was.
In Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (pronouncing those names was a nightmare), Doug Crosby gave Nicolae the first two rounds, Sal D’Amato gave Kenny rounds all three rounds but three would be 9-9 with the one point docked for his third eye poke. Tony Weeks gave Nicolae rounds one and two. So even without the foul point the judges were with Nicolae. I had it 28-28. Notable that only 7% of the media scored it for Nicolae with 53 % for Kennedy and 40% had it a draw.
Greg Hardy, in the last fight of his contract, lost in just 2:16 of round one to Serghei Spivac.
Bryce Mitchell on the air said he would donate half of his purse ($45,000 of $90,000) to care for children in Arkansas suffering from major health issues. Dana White after the show said that he would cover the $45,000 so Mitchell didn’t have to.
As far as Google searches for the week, last night’s UFC show did 2.3 million, which is a normal number for a good UFC PPV show. It was the single most searched topic on Google last night. Besides the main eventers, Masvidal and Covington, who are factored into the No. 1 spot, three other fights made the top 20 with 100,000 with Bryce Mitchell at No. 9, Greg Hardy at No. 11 and Rafael dos Anjos at No,. 13.
Gable Steveson has already been drafted to a WWE brand.
It was announced during the final round of tonight’s draft on Raw that Steveson had been drafted to Raw. After the announcement was made, Gable was seen celebrating at home with his family.
Steveson won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling at 125 kg this past summer at the Tokyo Olympics. He officially signed with the WWE on September 4. Despite signing with the WWE, he will attend his senior year of college at the University of Minnesota while training to become a professional wrestler.
Bobby Steveson, Gable’s brother, is also under WWE contract, currently training at the WWE Performance Center.
Tonight’s Raw was the final night of this year’s WWE Draft. Significant moves include Kevin Owens, The Street Profits, Finn Balor, Carmella, and Becky Lynch to Raw and Sheamus, Shayna Bazler, Xia Li, The Viking Raiders, Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo & Angel Garza, and Ridge Holland to SmackDown.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer dropped some WWE news and notes including Sami Zayn’s contract status, the latest list of banned words, a potential WrestleMania match for two stars down the line and more.
In talking about the recent news of Kevin Owens’ WWE deal expiring at the end of January, Meltzer noted that Sami Zayn’s deal expires later this year. He didn’t provide a specific date.
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Meltzer provided the latest list of banned words, terms and phrases in WWE that he had access to, given to talents who were promoting WrestleMania in Tampa, Florida:
“Blood, choke, belt, strap, diva, head shot, trauma, kayfabe, Mofos, house show, DQ, The Anti-Diva, spinal injuries, victim, violence, violent, wrestling, wrestlers, WWF, wifebeater, curb stomp, phrases including the word “push” and “being over,” babyface, heel, job, jobber, card, strangle, kill and murder”
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Following the official announcement of the signing of amateur wrestling standout and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, Meltzer said that “it’s already been teased and talked about that (Brock) Lesnar would eventually wrestle him in a passing-of-the-torch type moment at a WrestleMania.”
Lesnar is also a former University of Minnesota wrestling star and has been a friend and mentor to Steveson since he was in high school.
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Of recent NXT debutant Julius Creed (Jacob Kasper), Meltzer wrote “I’ve had people remark…(he)…is going to be special, noting he had heard that before Kasper even signed with WWE that people thought he had the potential to be a major star. “
While training, he’s developed a reputation for being a hard worker and quick learner and his name has been mentioned to me a few times and even more of late,” he wrote.
Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole (Austin Jenkins), Ruby Soho (Dori Prange) and Minoru Suzuki were all unannounced surprises on AEW’s All Out on 9/5 from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL.
The show may end up historical and certainly felt like it was historic in the building. It felt it just as much if not more watching on television with the announcers soundtrack. In the days that have passed, many have talked about it as the best U.S.-based PPV show in history and it has to be in the discussion. There have been a few better shows judged strictly by match quality, and it’s too soon to ascertain anything long-term of what it means. Short-term it led to Dynamite beating Raw for the first time ever same day in the same week.
But when you consider atmosphere, news value, crowd, announcing match depth and creativity, it’s a hard one to beat.
WWE has officially confirmed the signing of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.
WWE announced the signing of Steveson on Thursday, noting that he’ll be part of the company’s roster while continuing to wrestle at the University of Minnesota for his senior year. Dave Meltzer first reported last weekend that Steveson had signed with WWE.
Steveson won gold in freestyle wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics in August. Steveson competed in the 125-kilogram class.
“WWE signs Olympic gold medalist and reigning NCAA wrestling champion Gable Steveson to an exclusive agreement,” WWE announced. “In the company’s first-ever NIL deal, Steveson will join the WWE roster while defending his NCAA title for the University of Minnesota.”
NIL deals allow athletes to make money off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college. ESPN wrote that Steveson’s multi-year talent contract with WWE will then begin after he graduates.
“After Steveson graduates in May, his multiyear talent contract with WWE will begin; he’ll be a full-time performer with the company (but also appear on WWE programming during the school year),” ESPN wrote.
ESPN noted that WWE “will set up a remote training facility for Steveson near campus where he’ll learn the finer points of in-ring work with WWE coaches.” He’ll also have access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
“We all saw his physical ability prior to and at the Olympics,” WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan told ESPN. “What we also saw was that Gable has as much charisma as he does ability. Marketability and ability are both of great importance to us.
“This is just the starting line and nowhere close to the finish line. So our investment is based on how much we think of Gable now and how much bigger we think he can become.”
Steveson and fellow gold medalist wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock were honored at WWE SummerSlam last month.
After speculation and plenty of positive statements about each other over the last year, U.S. Olympic gold medal wrestler, NCAA champion and Dan Gable award winner Gable Steveson has signed with WWE, according to Dave Meltzer.
No start date or other details were given. It’s unknown if he is done at the University of Minnesota where he won two Big Ten Conference titles and was a two-time All-American.
Steveson was in attendance at last month’s SummerSlam where he was reportedly met with Vince McMahon. He did not meet with UFC’s Dana White, later saying they each had other’s phone number and social media information.
The 21-year-old won gold at the recent Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, winning his first-ever gold medal and raising his profile in the process. He had talked about also going into MMA in addition to pro wrestling, but it’s unknown if he will still pursue that.
Dave Meltzer on the new reports regarding Daniel Bryan and CM Punk possibly heading to AEW, Money in the Bank 2021 review, and more.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, the new Vince McMahon television series, and all the latest news. You can also send email questions to the show to [email protected]
The New Japan Tokyo Dome has gotten a lot of coverage in places it wouldn’t, because they had spectators yesterday and the Olympics didn’t. There’s been stuff all over the world but here’s the Los Angeles Times story.
Raw tonight in Kansas City has A.J. Styles & Omos vs. Viking Raiders, plus John Cena is on the show and Mustafa Ali & Mansoor team. Nikki Ash is scheduled to open likely for an angle to set up the next women’s title match. There were about 7,300 tickets out this morning with a huge increase coming when they announced Cena. Reports are no NXT talent seen backstage so most likely no dark matches nor Main Event matches involving them tonight. We’re looking for reports on the show with the non-Raw stuff like main event matches and dark matches to [email protected] We’re also doing out poll on the NJPW Tokyo Dome show, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match.
NXT tomorrow will be on Syfy rather than USA and have Bronson Reed vs. Adam Cole, Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne and in the Breakout tournament, Josh Briggs vs. Carmelo Hayes.
MMA manager Dave Martin has signed an NIL marketing deal with Gable Steveson, who will be the super heavyweight wrestler representing the U.S. in the Olympics this week. Ariel Helwani reported this. Martin manages Michael Chandler and Robbie Lawler. There has been a ton of speculation as to what Steveson does after the Olympics as it comes down to going back for his senior year at Minnesota, joining his brother in WWE developmental or going into MMA. Most feel WWE is the most likely destination.
New Japan announced its Super Junior tag team tournament from 8/7 to 8/17, all shows at Korakuen Hall. It will be a single block with Dick Togo & Gedo, Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi, Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask and Sho & Yoh.
New Japan has a Korakuen Hall show at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow on New Japan World
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Yota Tsuji
El Phantasmo & Jado & Taiji Ishimori vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura
Tsuji and Uemura are leaving Japan this week for an excursion.
Celebrity Family Feud which included the pro wrestling team of David Arquette, RJ City, Jungle Boy, Peter Avalon and Dalton Castle did 3,685,000 viewers in the overnights on ABC. The final numbers should be out tomorrow.
WWE
WWE is opening up merchandise shopping on YouTube during the Bump where you can browse products.
Randy Orton is being advertised locally for the 8/2 Raw show in Chicago that also features Bill Goldberg.
AEW
AEW had about 900 tickets left for Charlotte on Wednesday as of yesterday. It may sell out but that is far from a lock.
Dark Elevation tonight:
Pac vs. Chuck Taylor
Lee Johnson vs. Luther
Jungle Boy vs. Marq Quen
Penta & Fenix vs. 10 & 5 (got great reviews live)
Eddie Kingston vs. Serpentico
Thunder Rosa vs. Myka Madrid
Wardlow vs. Bear Bronson
Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol
Kris Statlander & Tay Conti vs. Bunny & Madi Wrenkowski
Angelico vs. Marko Stunt
Luchasaurus vs. Jora Johl
Billy & Colten Gunn & Brock Anderson vs. Chandler Hopkins & Izzy James & Cameron Cole
Yuka Sakazaki vs. Amber Nova
OTHER NOTES
Jay White debuts in the ring on Impact on Thursday. It’s White & Chris Bey vs. The Good Brothers.
Impact will be airing the 2018 Rebellion PPV on AXS on Thursday at 3 p.m. That has matches like Austin Aries vs. Rey Fenix vs. Penta for the Impact title, Matt Sydal vs. Petey Williams for the X title, LAX vs. Scott Steiner & Eli Drake (LA Knight) for the tag titles. There’s also a multiple person match with Taiji Ishimori, Dezmond Xavioer, El Hijo del Fantasma (Santos Escobar), Brian Cage, DJZ (Joaquin Wilde) and Trevor Lee (Cameron Grimes).
Jeff Katz has uploaded production archives from the unseen WRP production he did many years ago. Katz said he was posting this archive so that anyone with an interest in the creative process in pro wrestling can potentially use it as a resource. “Be it for what to do, what not to do, a jumping off point, or whatever. It took me a long time to come to peace with the shame and guilt tied up in failing at something that was such a big dream of mine and while I can never fully make it up to talent, fans and partners I let down in doing so, I hope this resource at minimum can be useful for someone down the line,” he said.
CWE is running a tour with dates on 8/4 to 8/8 in Alberta and 8/18 to 8/21 in Saskatchewan. Dates are 8/4 in Medicine Hat, 8/5 in Calgary, 8/6 in Red Deer, 8/7 in Grand Prairie and 8/8 in St. Albert. Saskatchewan dates are 8/18 in Prince Albert, 8/19 in Saskatoon, 8/20 in Regina and 8/21 in Weyburn.
Glory Pro Wrestling from Sunday in St. Louis: Kendal Beck b Stephan Newton, Davey Richards & Ethan Price b Paco Gonzalez & Chris Castro, Danhausen b Xavier Walker, Ethan Page b Kody Lane, Warhorse b Jody Threat, Dan the Dad b Arik Cannon in a street fight, Moses the Deliverer & Rahim de la Suede won a three-way over Idris Abraham & Joe Coleman and Seishin & ATM to win the tag titles, Myron Reed b Mat Fitchett, Mike Outlaw b Jake Something-DQ (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
MLW has announced a limited edition Micro Brawlers through Pro Wrestling Tees and MLWShop.com They will ship late fall.
